Concrete shaper apparatus

ABSTRACT

CONCRETE SHAPER APPARATUS HAVING POWER MEANS FOR MOVING SAME, AND A METHOD, FOR SHAPING A PLURALITY OF CONCRETE STADIUM RISERS AND TREADS, OR A SIMILAR STRUCTURE, CONTINUOUSLY AS THE APPARATUS IS MOVING.

Oct. 19, 1971 A, HAcKgR 3,613,185

CONCRETE SHAPER APPARATUS Filed March 26, 1969 1 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Geo/ye A. Hacker 034% lum?! & Mamaewl HTTORNE YS G. A. HACKER CONCRETE SHAPER APPARATUS Oct. 19,1971

Filed March 26, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Gearye 14. flac Aer INVENTOR ga den hone! Willow & MaHLewA ATTORNEYS 0a. 19, 1971 G. A. HACKER 3,613,185

CONCRETE SHAPER APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Filed March 26, 1969 ATTORNEYS United States Patent Office Patented Oct. 19, 1971 3,613,185 CONCRETE SHAPER APPARATUS George A. Hacker, Houston, Tex., assignor to H. A. Lott, Inc., Houston, Tex. Filed Mar. 26, 1969, Ser. No. 810,455 Int. Cl. B29b 7/22 US. Cl. 25118 S 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Concrete shaper apparatus having power means for moving same, and a method, for shaping a plurality of concrete stadium risers and treads, or a similar structure, continuously as the apparatus is moving.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of this invention is concrete shaping apparatus for shaping concrete into a desired configuration such as stadium risers and treads.

Heretofore, concrete stadium risers and treads, as well as similar stairs or stair-like structures, have been formed by first preparing wooden or metal forms for the risers and then manually leveling the concrete to form the treads between the risers. Using such procedure, the forms are left in place until the concrete has hardened and then they are removed. A finishing surface of concrete must then be applied and the forms are reused for another section or area, unless they have been damaged in the removal from the concrete.

Such procedure is slow, and involves delays between the time of pouring the concrete and the finishing of the surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to concrete shaper apparatus and methods wherein shaper elements are moved along a predetermined path, generally circular or curved, to shape concrete to a desired configuration, such as stadium risers and treads, or the like. The shaping and finishing of the concrete is essentially complete in a single pass of the apparatus because the shaper elements not only shape as they move, but they also wipe or smooth the surface of the concrete.

Such shaping and smoothing is accomplished without nailing or otherwise fixing forms, and therefore, the slowness and other disadvantages of such prior procedures are overcome.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an elevation of the concrete shaper apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating the operation of the apparatus of this invention, and the method of aligning the apparatus for the shaping of a substantially circular section of stadium risers and treads;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the apparatus taken on line 66 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a plan view taken on line 77 of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a view of a control panel for the apparatus in the preferred embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the drawings, the letter C designates generally a carrying bridge or framework which extends from lower support legs 11 to a pair of upper support legs 12. Briefly, the carrying bridge C has a plurality of shaper plates 15 suspended therefrom at different elevations and extending for substantially the full width of the apparatus for the shaping of a plurality of stadium risers R out of concrete S. The carrying bridge C also has a plurality of substantially uprightly extending striker plates 20 suspended therefrom by connecting same between adjacent shaper plates 15, as will be more fully explained, and such striker plates 20 serve to shape the treads T from the concrete S so that the concrete S is thus shaped into a structure for receiving benches, chairs or similar stadium seating equipment. It is to be noted that only part of the shaper plates 15 and the striker plates 20, and the suspending structure for connecting same to the carrying bridge C, is actually shown in solid lines in FIG. 1 of the drawings, for purposes of clarity, but it will be understood that the dotted lines and the dash dot lines of FIG. 1 represent the same structure as is shown in the solid lines in the corresponding positions in FIG. 1. It should also be noted that the concrete S is disposed on a base B which is preferably formed initially by earth being inclined at the desired angle, or by plywood or other foundation materials which may or may not be later removed. With the present invention, the carrying bridge C and everything supported therefrom is moved in a predetermined path with concrete disposed in front of such path so that the concrete is shaped by the shaper plates 15 and the striker plates 20 to form the stadium risers R and the stadium treads T from the concrete. Such shaping is accomplished in a single pass of the apparatus, and there is continuous shaping while the apparatus is moving.

The carrying bridge C may take numerous forms so long as it is capable of suspending the shaping elements 15 and the striker plates 20 in the proper relationship for shaping the concrete S, as will be more fully described. In the form of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the carrying frame C includes a plurality of longitudinally extending frame members 21, interconnecting perpendicular brace members 22, and inclined brace members 23. Preferably, such frame members 21, 22 and 23 are formed of steel in the shape of an angle iron, and all of which are suitably welded together. Laterally extending frame members 24 are joined with the longitudinally extending frame members 21 and are also tied in with the braces 22 and 23 so as to form a substantially square or rectangular cross-section '(FIG. 6) when viewed from either the upper or lower end of the bridge C. However, it should again be emphasized that such configuration is by way of example and is not by way of limitation.

The support legs 12 are preferably channel members of steel which may have an I beam configuration (FIGS. 1, 4 and 6), and which are welded or are otherwise secured to the longitudinally extending frame members 21 on each side of the carrying bridge C. The lower support legs 11 are similarly connected to the longitudinally extending frame members 21 at the lower end and are aligned with the upper support legs 12.

Each of the upper support legs 12 has a wheel or roller bracket 12a welded or otherwise secured thereto for mounting a wheel or roller 30 which is mounted so that it is adapted to rotate and move in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the carrying bridge C. The lower support legs 11 have similar rollers or wheels 31 and they are disposed substantially parallel to the upper rollers 30 so that it may be seen that the carrying bridge C is adapted to roll or move laterally or sideways with respect to the longitudinal axis of the carrying bridge C.

At suitable points throughout the length of the carrying bridge C, cross-bracing in the form of an X such as indicated at 25 (FIG. 2) is provided for strengthening the bridge C. A sighting post or-cross-hair 26 is mounted near the lower end of the bridge C and a similar sighting post or cross-hair 27 (FIG. is provided near the upper end of the carrying bridge C for use in aligning the longitudinal axis of the carrying bridge C with a fixed center or radial point P (FIG. 5), as will be more fully explained.

Referring now to FIGS. l-3 in particular, therein can be seen the preferred structure for supporting the shaper plates and the striker plates from the carrying bridge C. Each of the shaper plates 15 is preferably composed of an inner sheet 15a of stainless steel or similar smooth metal which is adapted to engage the concrete S to shape the substantially vertical risers R. Such inner metal layer 15a is secured by any suitable securing means such as screws (not shown) to a backing layer 1512 which is normally formed of a wooden board and which is substantially coextensive with the metal layer, except that it is preferable to have the metal layer formed with a curled substantially cylindrical end 15c (FIG. 4).

A pair of adjustable supporting members 32 is provided for each of the shaper plates 15. Each supporting member 32 is pivotally connected to a lug 33 which is welded or is otherwise secured to one of the lower longitudinally extending frame members 21, or any other suitable part of the carrying bridge C. Each support member 32 preferably has a turnbuckle 32a of conventional construction forming a part thereof for adjusting the length of such supporting member 32, to thereby determine the elevation or. position of the shaping element or plate 15 carried thereby. The lower end of each supporting member 32 has a connecting plate or plates 32b which are secured to the wooden backing board or member 15b of the shaping plate 15, using suitable screws or machine bolts 320 (FIG. 3). An angle iron bracket or strengthening rib 40 is connected by screws 40a to be back of the board 15, preferably between the plates 32b of the pair of support members 32 for each of the shaper plates 15 as best seen in FIG. 2.

To provide additional support and for adjustably spacing the shaping elements 15 with respect to each other, a plurality of adjustable spacer braces 36, each having a conventional turnbuckle arrangement 36a therewith, are pivotally disposed between the lugs 33 and the lower portion of one of the support members 32. The pivotal connection pins for the brace 36 shown in FIG. 3 are designated 36b and 36c. It will be understood that each pair of adjacent shaper elements 15 is supported by substantially the same supporting and brace structure and a part of this is illustrated in FIG. 1, with dotted and dash lines being used for schematically showing the remainder thereof.

Between each of the adjacent shaper plates 15, there is an uprightly extending or vertical striker plate 20 which may be secured thereto by any suitable means, but the preferred arrangement is illustrated in particular in FIG. 3. The plate 20 is preferably formed of steel or other relatively strong material. The lower edge 20a of each striker plate 20 serves to smooth and shape the concrete to form the tread T, and therefore, normally such edge 20a is substantially horizontal, although there may be a slight angle thereto for shaping the tread T at a slight angle for drainage or other purposes. The lower edge 20a is therefore mounted so that such edge 20a is in substantial alignment with the lower edge of the higher of the adjacent shaper plates 15 to which it is connected. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the connection is preferably made by joining the angle iron bracket 40 to an angle iron or connector 41 which is welded or is otherwise affixed to the striker plate 20. The connection between each bracket 40 and connector 41 is made with a bolt 41a and a nut 41b, or other suitable attaching means. As seen in FIG. 4, each of the striker plates 20 is preferably positioned in proximity to but inwardly from the leading ends of the shaper plates whereby shaping of the risers begins in advance of the shaping of the substantially horizontal treads by the striker plates.

The other end of each striker plate 20 is secured to the lower one of its two adjacent shaper plates 15 by means of a connecting plate 20b which is preferably integral with or welded to the striker plate 20. Retaining screws 20c extend through the plate 20b into the backing board 15b of the shaper plate 15 (FIGS. 3 and 4). Each of the striker plates 20 is similarly mounted between adjacent shaper plates 15, it being understood that the particular manner of mounting such plates together is subject to variation. Tie rods 42 (FIG. 2) are preferably welded or are otherwise connected to the support members 32 for strengthening and stabilizing the position thereof.

Each of the striker plates 20 preferably has a vibrator 45 of conventional construction which is operated by an electrical power source through wires 45a, a portion of which is shown in FIG. 4 and which lead to a suitable source of alternating or direct current. The vibrator provides a sufiicient amount of vibration in each of the striker plates 20 to facilitate a smoothing and finishing of the concrete at the tread T, which saves, in most instances, a second smoothing or finishing operation by hand following the shaping operation with the apparatus of this invention.

Since the apparatus of the present invention is especially suitable for forming stadium risers and treads in a curved shape which may be round, elliptical, or generally so shaped, suitable means are provided with the present invention for guiding the apparatus in a curved or substantially circular path for at least segments of the travel thereof. This is illustrated .in particular in FIG. 4, wherein the curved shape for the shaper plates 15 may be seen. Also, a curved track forming a segment of a circle is illustrated at 50 in FIG. 4 for receiving the wheels 30. A similar track 51 (FIG. 1) is provided for the lower wheels or rollers 31. The track 50 is placed on a foundation or base 52 which is provided prior to positioning the apparatus of this invention in a location for use. The guide or track 51 is likewise positioned on a foundation or base 53 which is positioned prior to use of the apparatus. The wheels or rollers are preferably rigidly mounted on their axles on the support legs 12, and they are guided in their circular path conforming to the curvature of the channel member 50. The channel member 50 has upstanding edges 50a which serve to limit the movement of the wheels to be certain that the wheels 30 follow the curved path provided by the guide track 50. The rollers 31 are supported and are guided in substantially the same manner by the guide track 51 which is also a channel member having upstanding side edges. The radius of curvature of each of the guide rails 50 and 51 is normally related to a fixed center point P (FIG. 5), so that the lower guide track 51 has a shorter radius from such point P than the upper guide track 50.

Various means may be used for driving the apparatus of this invention, but as illustrated in the drawings, the carrying frame or bridge C is driven by a separate drive assembly at the upper end and at the lower end. Referring now in particular to FIGS. 1, 4 and 6, the drive means at the upper end of the carrying bridge C includes a hydraulic motor or other suitable source of power which is connected by a gear train to a vertically extending drive shaft '61 (FIG. 6) having a sprocket 62 at the lower end thereof. The gear train illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 includes a sprocket 63 which is directly driven by the motor 60, and which is connected to a larger sprocket 64 by a chain 65. A small sprocket 66 is connected to the same shaft 67 as the sprocket 64 and it in turn has a chain 68 operably connected to a sprocket 69 which is on the shaft 61. Instead of the sprocket and chains, it will be appreciated that gears may be used for the speed reduction. A pair of idler sprockets 70 and 71 are mounted on a supporting frame 72 extending downwardly from the carrying bridge C (FIG. 6) and they are arranged on each side of the driving sprocket 62 so that the driving sprocket 62 may be disposed in a loop 75a of a drive chain 75 as seen in FIG. 4. The idler sprockets 70 and 71 are disposed externally of the chain 75 and move with the sprocket 62. The chain 75 is releasably clamped to the outer edge of the track 50 by any suitable type of clamps such as C-clamps 76 at each end thereof which are in engagement with the outer lip or edge 50a. Thus, it will be appreciated that when the track 50 is secured in a fixed position, the chain 75 is likewise fixed, so that upon rotation of the drive sprocket 62, the apparatus i moved along the track 50 and relative to the chain 75. In normal operations, the apparatus moves from one end of the chain to the other and then the chain is shifted to a new position. The track 50 may itself be also shifted to a new position, or an additional section of track may be installed in advance of the apparatus. The same type of drive assembly or mechanism is preferably provided at the lower end of the carrying bridge C, and such apparatus has been indicated with the same numerals preceded by the numeral 1 to show similarity between the upper and lower drive mechanism as illustrated at least in part in FIG. 1 of the drawings. A separate control is provided for each of the motors as indicated in FIG. 8 wherein the control handle 80 is illustrated for controlling the direction of rotation of the motor 60, and a handle or lever 81 is provided for controlling the direction of movement of the motor 160. When the controls 80 and 81 are in the intermediate position, the motors 60 and 160 are stopped. When the motors 60 and 160 are hydraulic or fluid motors, the levers 80 and 81 control valves in the hydraulic system, as will be well understood by those skilled in the art.

In carrying out the method of this invention, using the apparatus hereinabove described, the base B is initially formed, either of earth or of any suitable material such as plywood, and such base B is formed at an angle of inclination which corresponds generally to the angle of the carrying bridge C. Suitable foundation strips 52 and 53 are provided so as to provide a stable base for the guide tracks 50 and 51. Such foundations 52 and 53 may be formed of concrete which is originally poured in position to form same, or they may be formed of any other material which is of sufiicient strength and stability to support the apparatus during its movement. The drive chain 75 is connected to the guide track 50 at the upper end of the apparatus and a similar guide chain (not shown) is connected at the lower end of the apparatus, with the drive sprockets 62 and 162 in driving engagement therewith. The position of the shaper plates 15 and the striker plates 20 are adjusted to provide the desired thickness and configuration or shape for the concrete S which is subsequently to be shaped. Normally, the shaper plates 15 are substantially vertical and the lower edge 20a of each striker plate 20 is substantially horizontal.

The fixed center point P is located in the stadium by a post or sighting rod which is driven into or is otherwise secured in the ground at the point P which constitutes the center for the circular segments of the tracks 51 and 50. The sighting cross-hairs or other sighting rods 26 and 27 are aligned with the center point P and then concrete is deposited by any suitable means in advance of the apparatus. For example, suitable conveyors may extend from a concrete truck or mixing machine to the area just in advance of the apparatus so as to deposit the concrete S on the base B as seen in FIG. 1. The apparatus is then moved slowly by operating the motors 60 and 160 as needed to maintain the cross-hairs or other sighting means 2-6 and 27 in alignment with the center point P at all times. It will be understood that suitable automatic equipment may be employed for controlling the operation of such motors 60 and 160, but they may also be controlled manually by an operator using the sighting technique described above wherein the operation of the motors 60 and 61 is controlled manually with the control levers 80 and 81. The striker plates 20 are preferably vibrated by the vibrators 45 mounted thereon so as to provide a substantially smooth upper surface on the treads T as the concrete is shaped.

After a section of the concrete is shaped as indicated at in FIG. 5, the movement of the apparatus can be continued to shape the rest of the stadium risers and treads by shifting the tracks 50 and 51, or by extending same with additional sections thereof, and by repeating the foregoing procedure. Such procedure may thus be continued to form the risers and treads for a complete stadium. It should also be noted that heating and air ducts (not shown) may be disposed in or on the base B prior to the disposition of the concrete S thereon so that the shaping of the risers R and the treads T may be accomplished with the vents or ducts in position.

After the concrete has thus been shaped, some smoothing or final finishing may be desirable if a particularly smooth surface is demanded, but the smoothness obtained with the present apparatus is suflicient for a final finish in many instances.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are illustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the size, shape, and materials as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for shaping concrete which is deposited in advance of the direction of movement thereof into stadium risers and treads, or the like, comprising:

(a) a carrying bridge having lower support means and upper support means; said carrying bridge being inclined upwardly from said lower support means to said upper support means;

(b) at least three shaper plates suspended substantially vertically from said carrying bridge, with each of said plates being at a different elevation for shaping a plurality of stadium risers and with each of said shaper plates extending for substantially the full width of the apparatus;

(c) a substantially uprightly extending striker plate supported between and connected to each pair of adjacent shaper plates, with its lower edge lying in a substantial horizontal plane; each of said striker plates being disposed in proximity to the leading ends of said shaper plates as said apparatus is moved;

((1) the lower end of one of each pair of said shaper plates being at substantially the same elevation as said lower edge of said striker plate connected thereto, and the lower end of the other of each pair of said shaper plates being at a lower elevation than said lower edge of said striker plate connected thereto;

(e) means for moving said carrying bridge for thereby moving said shaper plates and striker plates to shape 1 the concrete continuously during such movement;

(f) lower support rollers on said lower support means;

(g) upper support rollers on said upper support means;

(h) a lower track for receiving the lower support rollers for guiding same; and

(i) an upper track for receiving the upper support rollers for guiding same.

2. The structure set forth in claim 11, wherein:

(a) said lower track is arcuately shaped as a segment of a circle; and

(b) said upper track is arcuately shaped as a segment of a circle, with a greater radius than the radius for the circle of said lower track.

3. The structure set forth in claim 2, including wherein:

said means for moving said carrying bridge includes a separate power means and drive at said lower support means and said upper support means for thereby permitting control of the movement of said carrying bridge to maintain its upper and lower ends substantially in alignment with a fixed point indicating the center of the circles for each of said lower and upper tracks.

4. The structure set forth in claim 3, including:

sighting means near the upper and lower ends of said carrying bridge for use in aligning said carrying bridge with said fixed point.

5. The structure set forth in claim 1., wherein said means for moving said carrying bridge includes:

(a) a motor;

(b) a sprocket having sprocket teeth and rotatably driven by said motor;

(c) a length of chain having its ends fixed against movement relative to said bridge and having openings for engagement by the teeth of said sprocket for moving the sprocket along the chain as the sprocket is rotated by said motor for thereby moving said carrying bridge relative to said chain.

6. The structure set forth in claim 1, including:

(a) means for vibrating said striker plates as they are moved to efiect a smoothing of the concrete forming the surface of the treads.

7. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein:

each of said striker plates extends upwardly from its lower edge a distance equal to at least approximately one-half of the height of the riser formed thereabove.

8. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein:

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Wood 25-41 I Crom 264-33 Canfield et a1 25l18 W Pinner 249-14 Butzin 741 I. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner N. E. LEHRER, Assistant Examiner U .3. Cl. X.R.

2541 I, 131 SC; 264-32 

